


School Shenanigans

by TheScoundrelCookie



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: F/M, M/M, Post-Series, mild gorgonicshipping, possible ooc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-05
Updated: 2014-09-03
Packaged: 2018-02-03 12:55:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1745369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheScoundrelCookie/pseuds/TheScoundrelCookie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Join Yuma Tsukumo and his merry band of friends on their tame yet exciting adventures! (Eventual Keyshipping amd whatever ships I feel like pairing. Rated T, because someone is bound to cuss in the future Astral. World. Post-Series.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Astral World can't cook

**Author's Note:**

> Just re-posting this from Fanfiction, cause wynaut? I don't own Zexal. :P

School Shenanigans   
Chapter 1: Astral World can't cook

Yuma stuffed the last bit of the bitter cake into his mouth as Astral sat in front of the boy from the other side of the table. The former spirit watched the black-haired duelist, eagerly waiting for his reaction. 

When the younger of the two boys managed to swallow the piece without gagging at the horrible taste, the pale, light blue haired male edged a little closer; his expression showing he was more curious than ever. 

"Was it any good?" he asked as his mismatched eyes of gold and white seemed to sparkle for Yuma's approval.

The tanned boy glanced away briefly before locking his ruby colored eyes with his best friend's.

Truth be told, it tasted horrible, but he didn't want to say that!

He had only gotten his best friend back around a month ago when Yuma and his friends had gone to help Astral fight the force of Chaos.  
…..And after the whole situation, the former blue spirit had informed Yuma he would be coming back with him.   
The boy had been overjoyed at first, but when the two, along with the rest of Yuma’s friends, arrived back to Earth, the predicament of how Astral would live came up.  
Luckily, his family had been generous enough to adopt his now human best friend, but it came with the black-haired duelist having to share rooms with the former being from Astral World.   
The tanned boy had to admit it had been a little awkward at first when the two were first roommates, but it seemed the light haired male had remembered most of the things Yuma had told him about…They were able to get along comfortably after the first week or so.  
It was a nice arrangement really, and it showed, especially since that same week Astral began to attend school with Yuma.   
It was pretty helpful as the former spirit was intelligent and often helped the boy out with his homework and whatnot. As for the teenager Tsukumo, he usually assisted his friend by explaining more things revolving around human life. 

Actually, one thing Astral seemed to be interested about lately was culinary arts.  
In fact, the pale male had actually been pretty persistent about the topic, and eventually, after enough pestering, Yuma had gone to the bookstore and bought about three cookbooks for him.   
He could remember his friend’s surprised yet delighted expression when he handed the items to him, and since then, the former spirit would spend every spare moment he had studying the book.

Sadly, it seemed useless considering the tanned boy had to lie every time he had something Astral prepared, but it wasn’t too bad.  
He still thought it was pretty adorable that his best friend wished to learn how to cook. So there was that….

A small smile formed on his lips as he gazed at the male with light blue hair.

"Yuma?" asked his best friend as he tilted his head in confusion. "Is it bad?"  
Right, he had forgotten to answer the slightly older male.

"Uh n-no! It tasted pretty good! Better than last time, yup!" the boy blurted out. It wasn't necessarily a lie. Astral was somewhat improving...and by somewhat, he meant there was a .0000000001% improvement on his cooking skills. 

"I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it," replied Astral, seemingly not picking up Yuma's badly told lie.

Silence followed as the two sat; Astral smiling softly as he stared at Yuma. The younger boy began tapped lightly on the table as he tried to find a way to spark a conversation.

"Uhhh..." started the mainly black haired male before he snapped his fingers and grinned, "Do you wanna play video games? It's just us two right now, and we can get away without doing our chores a little longer!"

"But Yuma isn't it our responsibility to do our chores? We aren't paying to stay here nor do we pay for food. It's the least we could do," the older boy countered, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah! Come on!" Yuma urged as he stood up, grabbed Astral by the hand, and led him upstairs to their room. "Tetsuo lent me one of his new games! I hear it's really good!"

Astral rolled his eyes but nodded, "Very well, Yuma. Just please don't try to hide behind me when Akari yells at you for not washing the dishes again."

"I will, I will! Now let's go play!!! You walk too slow!"  
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Yuma sat by the older blonde male, groaning as he rested the right side of his face on the cold surface of the lunch table.

The former WDC champion grunted once more as he clutched his stomach in pain. Astral’s meals were going to be the death of him….

"What's wrong with you?" Mizael asked, cocking an eyebrow. "You're acting stranger than usual."

"Astral's...cooking," managed to reply the younger male as another whimper escaped his lips.

"What about it?"

"It's...it's...Ughh...horrible,” the Tsukumo teenager cringed as he imagined the disgusting foods. 

"Does he know this?"

"...No."

Mizael rolled his eyes, "You're an idiot."

"H-hey," Yuma weakly shot back in annoyance.

"Oh, speaking of horrible cooks, Astral’s coming," the blonde dragon tamer warned, smirking at Yuma's panicked reaction. The younger boy suddenly shot up and tried to grin as if nothing was wrong before realizing his best friend was nowhere to be seen.

"Just kidding," Mizael stated, laughing when Yuma glared and stuck his tongue out at him.

However, the light blue haired boy suddenly turned the corner and approached the two males, holding a lunchbox.

The dragon tamer glanced at the tanned boy's expression and fought the urge to burst into a raging fit of laughter upon seeing the terrified look the black-haired duelist held. 

"Yuma!" called Astral as he waved towards the boy.

"Hey Astral," The red-eyed teenager responded as he tried smiling. 

"I brought you lunch today," his friend beamed as he sat in front of the teenage Tsukumo just like he had done for the past month or so.

"Just like you have for the past week," Yuma laughed nervously, wondering if it was possible for him to stomach today's meal.

Regardless, he would try.

"What's on the menu today?" he asked, hoping it would be something considerably small. 

"I believe the term used is 'tuna casserole'. However, I put it in a rice ball as you seem to thoroughly enjoy them...Or should I not have done that?"

"No, that's fine! That's fine, really," the tanned boy assured his friend, grinning. "Thanks! I...really...eugh...a-appreciate it."

Mizael stood up, annoyed at the two's conversation. He glanced at them and said, "If you see Durbe, tell him that I’ll be at the library.”

"Very well," Astral replied as his black-haired friend studied the food without trying to make it obvious.

He seemed to pale upon finishing his inspection.

Anyways, the blonde-haired male left the duo, and the light haired boy turned to find his companion holding the food his hand.

Yuma no longer felt pain in his gut but rather nervousness as he opened his mouth to take a bite.

However...

"HAVEN'T I TOLD YOU TWO BEFORE?"

The boy nearly dropped the item as he quickly looked up to find some teacher scolding his two friends; the fair green-haired girl named Kotori and the dark chocolate-haired boy, Alito.

The former WDC Champion blinked in mild shock and confusion while his partner turned and watched the two.

Kotori had placed the palm of her hands against her face as she furiously blushed in an embarrassed fashion. However, Alito stood with his arms crossed as a smug expression had settled on his face.

"I wonder what's going on...?" the boy with black hair wondered as he continued watching the teacher, a rather old and stout man Yuma had the luck of never meeting, yell at the two.

"Perhaps they were being intimate," Astral mindlessly suggested.

"A-ASTRAL!" cried a flustered tanned boy. 

"What? Did I say something wrong, Yuma?"

"Well, k-kinda."

The male with mismatched eyes gave his partner a questioning stare, "Okay..."

However, after moments of Yuma gazing down in an uncomfortable manner, the former Astral being began to watch the educator scold his friends once more.

"A perrrfect day isn't it nya~?" Cat purred from right behind the black-haired duelist, making him jump. She paused however as she began to sniff around curiously. Her search led her to the lunch in front of Yuma, and the cat girl blinked in mild surprise. "Yuma, why do you have cat food as your lunch, nya~?" questioned the girl as she pointed towards the food.

"What? What are you talking about?" a bewildered Tsukumo teenager inquired, gazing at his meal momentarily. "Cat food? But this is tuna casserole!"

"No it's not, nya~," Cathy shot back.

"Yes it is!"

"Nu-uh, nya~"

Yuma rolled his eyes in frustration but suddenly got an idea.

"Okay, okay...Maybe it is cat food."

"Of course it is, nya~. I would know better than anyone, nya~!" practically boasted the feline-like girl as she placed her paws on her hips.

"Sure...Quick, take the food while Astral isn't looking," Yuma whispered, quickly grabbing the container and extending it towards her.

"What? Can't you just throw it away, nya~?" the girl with glasses questioned, somewhat refusing to take it.

"Pleaseeee?" the boy begged as he pouted in an adorable fashion. "Do it while Astral's distracted."

A slight blush formed on Cathy's cheeks as she hesitantly took the food, "O-okay...What do I do with it…uh n-nya?"

"Just throw most of it away or something."

"Okay," she left without another word. Yuma turned his attention to see the teacher, followed by Kotori and Alito, walk out of the cafeteria and most likely, to the principal's office.

The light blue haired boy turned back to face Yuma as he lazily rested his cheek on the palm of his left hand.

"That was rather amusing to see," he noted, closing his eyes as if he were thinking long and hard.

"What were they doing?"

"You weren't paying attention?"

"Uhh no....I was eating the lunch you made me," the tanned boy lied once more.

His best friend opened an eye, the white one actually, and the younger of the two could already tell his companion was looking for his approval.

"It was nice! It tasted a little odd, but in a good way, ya know?"

"You think so? I was a little worried about your reaction."

"Aww, well...don't sweat it!!"

Astral could only give a dazzling smile at his friend, and Yuma assumed he had not noticed the lunchbox was not in the tanned boy’s possession.   
Regardless, the younger boy swiftly stood up from his seat which caused the former Astral being to stare at him in a shocked yet curious demeanor. 

"I...Uhh...I gotta go! I was gonna ask Rio something! See ya later!" quickly excused the black-haired duelist as he took off running.

He felt so guilty.


	2. Yuma Tsukumo Makes Assumptions

**School Shenanigans**

**Chapter 2: Yuma Tsukumo makes assumptions**

A couple of days had passed since the incident with Cathy and the 'cat food'.

Oddly enough, the black-haired duelist had been unable to shake the possibility off of his mind, and even worse, he was starting to consider it to be true.

Then again, he was unable to _truly_ believe it as Astral has hinted that he detested, and at one point, feared, cats.

So, it didn’t make sense to the boy, but while he was still surviving Astral’s horrible cooking, Yuma was beginning to question whether he should just be honest with the former spirit.

Yet he really didn't want to hurt his best friend's feelings!

The tanned boy just thought it would worsen the situation even more as Yuma had been lying to him this whole time!

“Augh!” he whined in frustration, pouting afterwards as he sat by himself on the bench. He was unsure what to do in this situation, and it angered him.

"Yuma!!" cried a female's voice suddenly, which thankfully halted his thoughts, and the teenage Tsukumo gazed up to find his green-haired childhood friend, Kotori, approach him as she waved frantically.

When she reached him, the girl plopped down beside him and smiled gently at her friend.

"Hey Kotori," the boy replied calmly as he waved curtly. "Where's Alito?"

She froze at the mention of the former gladiator before gazing down awkwardly.

“Alito? I…I dunno. Haven’t seen him,” she murmured, avoiding eye contact and shifting around in her seat uncomfortably.

“Oh,” the Tsukumo teenager replied, unsure how to continue the conversation. “Sooo…”

He scratched at the back of his head nervously and was about to say something when Kotori cut him off, “He’s kinda sweet.”

"Hm?"

“Alito. I mean he gets me into really… _awkward_ situations, but…” she fell quiet as a faint blush spread on her cheeks. “I’m just surprised he still….likes me, I guess.”

“Oh….Ya know, I still wonder what you two were doing a couple of days ago,” the tanned boy noted, trying to steer the chat from this specific topic.

Her face reddened immensely at his comment, “N-Nothing bad!”

“Huh?”

“I just kissed him on the cheek. I was trying to be nice,” she muttered, turning her attention away from the black-haired duelist.

"Oh….Well, okay!" the young Tsukumo grinned, trying to make the situation less unpleasant than it already was.

“It’s a little weird and all….since I’m starting to like him a bit,” the green haired girl admitted to her childhood friend. “I still think your smile is lovelier though.”

Yuma became flustered at her words. He proceeded to stare downwards as his childhood friend giggled at the sight.

“So, how’s living with Astral?” Kotori inquired, changing the subject for good.

“It’s pretty awesome! I mean he’s a little annoying sometimes, especially when he stays up really late watching ESPer Robin, but it’s nice to have someone my age in the house, ya know?” the male eagerly responded as a silly grin formed on his lips.

“That’s good!”

"It is..." The black-haired duelist’s grin vanished as he gazed down once more, reminded of his current predicament that he had no idea how to resolve.

"Yuma, are you ok?"

"Yeah, yeah...Uhh, oh look! It's already gonna be six! I should get going," Yuma stated suddenly as he jumped off of the bench and took off running. "See ya tomorrow at school, Kotori!"

"O-okay...bye," she waved in surprise as her childhood friend disappeared from view.

\---

When Yuma had arrived home, he didn't find Astral in the kitchen like usual. A relieved sigh had escaped his lips before curiosity embedded itself in the tanned boy.

If he wasn't here, where could he be?

He furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance as he cautiously headed towards the room they shared together.

Perhaps the pale skinned boy was in there doing homework or something.

However, when he walked in, the tanned boy found his best friend in a pair of light grey pajamas, aka an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants, sprawled out in his neatly made bed with a book covering his face.

A foolish grin formed on Yuma's mouth as he relished the sight. It was really adorable in all honesty, and he didn’t want to disturb his sleep.

So, the tanned boy quietly approached the pale male and began attempting to pry the item off of Astral's face in the best careful manner he could muster.

When he did manage to take it off, the light blue haired boy shifted a bit towards his right side as he emitted tiny snores in which the Tsukumo boy laughed quietly at.

However, when he was done chuckling, the amused smile remained on the tanned boy's lips for a moment longer before he switched his attention to one of few cookbooks he had purchased for Astral.

Flipping through the pages, the black-haired duelist skimmed though most of the text and studied the pictures instead.

They looked more appetizing than his best friend's food could ever be, and the former WDC champion could feel his stomach start to grumble.

"Better put this down," the Tsukumo teenager mumbled to himself as he shut the hardcover closed. He began to place it near the dresser next to Astral's bed but halted upon seeing the title of the book.

"An Owner's Guide to making Delicious Meals for your Cat?" he whispered a little harshly as he brought it to his face in shock. "What the-"

Yuma took a step back as he stared at the item, dumbfounded.

He pouted in annoyance at this revelation and paced back towards Astral, getting a little too close for comfort. Placing a hand on his most important thing's shoulder, he shook him lightly as he called:

"Astral, Astral! Wake up!"

A few moments later, the heterochromatic male tiredly opened his eyes in confusion. He blinked several times as he involuntarily began to stretch his arms.

"Yuma?" he asked before arching an eyebrow. "What seems to be the matter?"

The annoyed black-haired duelist quickly held up the book as he questioned in an accusing voice, "Have you been feeding me cat food on purpose?!"

A bewildered expression seemed to overtake Astral's previous sluggish face as the former spirit changed into a sitting position on his bed. “What?"

Yuma tilted the book towards the pale haired male to see as he ran his finger along the title.

"An Owner's Guide to making Delicious Meals for your Cat," Yuma remarked, glaring at his friend with a pout.

"Huh. That is rather odd….I suppose I have been then, Yuma," Astral admitted.

"W-Wha-?" The teenage Tsukumo burst out. "Where'd you get this book anyways? Didn't I buy you some?"

The black-haired duelist held a slightly pained expression as his arms fells; his right hand gripping the book tightly with his fingers.

Astral gazed towards his lap, not responding at all.

A few moments passed this way as the boy with ruby colored eyes stood, awaiting an explanation from his best friend.

"Yuma..." began the pale skinned teenager as he extended his hand towards the book and tugged on it lightly.

In slight surprise, the Tsukumo teenager released the hardcover item as Astral brought the book closer to his face, looking at it carefully.

"Yuma," repeated the light blue haired boy as he peered up and gazed at the black haired duelist with knowing eyes. "This is the book you bought me."

"W-What? You're gonna blame this on ME?!" the tanned boy huffed as he clenched his fists in annoyance. "That's not fair!! I didn’t even buy _that_ for you!!"

"But Yuma," protested Astral. "Look at the large scratch on the back. You told me you made that mark when you tripped coming back from the store."

The teenage Tsukumo flinched at this enlightenment before exclaiming, “No way! You’re lying, Astral!”

The former spirit shook his head in confirmation, "No, I’m not. Take a look."

"Hmph! Fine!" Yuma grunted as he took the cookbook from Astral's loose grip and gazed at it.

The black-haired duelist tensed upon seeing the large gash across the back of the hardcover.

"Do you see it, Yuma?"

The teenage Tsukumo felt his face heat up in embarrassment at this sudden revelation.

"I..." The former WDC champion began but went quiet.

He bowed his head down in shame as he apologized, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, I suppose," his best friend replied, not very aware of why Yuma was angry in the first place.

However, Astral then opened his mouth, "I'm sorry I fed you cat food. I should have paid attention to the material more…..Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I’m…uhh okay....I've been a little sick, because of your cooking...it's a little less worrisome since it just might be the cat food, and your actual food-making skills might not be bad," Yuma remarked, laughing a bit at the last part.

The light haired male blinked in mild surprise before he narrowed his eyes, "You thought my cooking was bad?"

The tanned boy froze as he picked up a slight tinge of betrayal in Astral's voice.

"W-well yeah," Yuma stuttered, fiddling with his hands in an anxious manner. "B-but....like it might just be the cat food that makes it bad?”

The pale male closed his eyes as he rested his chin on the tip of his finger and thumb.

"That may be a possibility."

"S-sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I didn't wanna hurt your feelings since, like, you're still getting used to being human and all."

"I appreciate the thought. I still would have preferred for you to tell me however," the former Astral being commented with a slight scowl on his lips.

"Eh....H-how about this..." the Tsukumo boy blurted out suddenly as his mind scrambled to think of a solution. “Uh...oh!! How about we go to the bookstore tomorrow, and you can pick out which ever three you like! And uhhh....Well if you want, you can try your cooking on me...? ....Just as long as it's not cat food though.”

The tanned boy received a faint smile from his best friend before the light haired boy bobbed his head in acceptance towards the offer.

"I would like that," the older boy mused as the faint smile morphed into an awkward yet heartfelt grin. "Thank you Yuma. I genuinely appreciate it."

The Tsukumo teenager felt his face get warm as he turned away, striding towards the exit of their bedroom.

"Haha! Y-Yeah! Talk to you later!" The black-haired duelist practically yelled as he went outside of the room and into the hall.

The tanned boy stopped once he was in a safe distance from his best friend and began to pry at his cheeks in agitation.

Yuma narrowed his eyes as he tried concluding why he had panicked when he was with Astral.

It was odd for him to act like this….

It shouldn’t have been this weird for the black-haired duelist considering all the moments they had experienced when Astral was still a spirit alien thing from another dimension.

Still, these moments felt different for Yuma….and better than before, especially since physical contact between the two used to be minimal.

The boy shook his head as he tried to erase those thoughts.

"YUMA!!" he abruptly flinched when he heard Akari yelling from the entrance of the household.

"C-coming, Akari!" the Tsukumo teenager cried as he immediately headed over, thankful that there was something to take his mind off of his conflicted contemplations.

In the end, it turned out the former spirit did indeed have decent cooking skills. He wasn't the best, and the black-haired duelist told him so. However, it was an immense improvement compared to the original dishes the light haired boy had previously prepared.

Of course, the pale male just gave an amused smile like always.

It was a really beautiful smile, and the young duelist gave a goofy grin in response, happy to have his best friend with him once again.


	3. Ryoga Kamishiro loses a bet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blame my friend for this chapter.

**School Shenanigans**

**Chapter 3: Ryoga Kamishiro loses a bet**

"AHHHHHHHH!" Ryoga yelled as he fell to the ground with a thud. A loud sound of a horn was then heard, signifying he lost the duel he had been previously partaking in.

In the distance, stood the proud figure of Alito whom laughed and spun around in triumph.  
  
"I won!" he cheered momentarily before running up the tentacle haired teenager. "Awesome duel Na-Shark...!”  
  
Rolling his eyes, the male Kamishiro twin began to stand up, dusting his pants off in the process.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Shark muttered in response as he glared away from the chocolate haired boy.

A pause from Alito followed before he grinned like a fool.  
  
"Haha! I won that bet about me being better than you in dueling too! And you know what this means~," The former gladiator reminded, inching closer towards Shark as his grin somehow widened.   
  
The indigo-haired boy froze in his spot as he immediately shifted his glare toward his companion.  
  
"If you even go near Rio..." he began but the former gladiator flinched at his assumption.  
  
"Woah, what?! Ewwww, noooo. I don't wanna ask your sister out!" the dark-skinned boy replied a little too quickly. “She’s not even that pretty!”  
  
A scowl formed on Ryoga's lips as he raised a clenched fist to the dark skinned male, "Whaaat?"  
  
"U-uh...I mean...Kotori has m-my heart!"  
  
The former king rolled his blue eyes but dismissed it. It would be pointless to continue anyways.  
  
"Whatever.”

“Anyway~, now that you lost the be-“

“What do you want?”  
  
"Weeeell," the former gladiator started. "Since you lost…Oh, I know! You gotta wear a bright orange squid hat all da-“  
  
"You're stupid. I'm not doing that," the water-type duelist interjected in a flat voice.  
  
"But ya hafta!! You lost the bet!" Alito shot back, clenching his fists as he frowned. "If you don't, I'll...I'll...Uhh...oh, I know. Ask Rio out!"  
  
"You do that, and you're dead," Shark threatened; his expression darkening to show he was rather serious.  
  
However, his companion didn't back down as he only gave a ferocious grin to match the scowl on Shark’s lips.  
  
"Then the squid hat."  
  
Narrowing his eyes, Ryoga gazed down in defeat.  
  
"Fine," was his one worded response.  
  
\--  
  
Shark had a firm scowl set on his lips as a light orange hat in the shape of a squid was propped on his head, covering some of the strands of tentacle hair he was rather proud of.  
  
Alito stood beside him, giving a goofy grin as he admired the rather hilarious sight.  
  
"I swear...if Vector sees me like this, I'm going to be shark bait..." he murmured to himself as the male Kamishiro twin placed his hand to his face in a frustrated embarrassment.  
  
"Aw come on! You don't actually look that bad...You just look a little ridiculous," the chocolate-haired male stated, attempting to encourage the older male as he softly sniggered.

However, one murderous glance from Ryoga was enough to halt the former gladiator whom just stared ahead to avoid any eye contact with his companion.  
  
"Remind me to-"  
  
"Kotori!!" cut off the childlike boy as he took off running towards the green-haired girl in the distance. "Bye Na-Uh, Shark!”  
  
"HEY!" the former king yelled, clenching his fists at the chocolate haired boy leaving him alone. However, he paused as he spotted a couple of girls in the distance giggling at him.

Angrily, he huffed and paced off.  
  
Hopefully this day would pass by quickly and painlessly.  
  
\--  


The water-type duelist was angered. All day long, everyone, including his twin Rio, had been making jokes at him and the stupid squid hat.

It was embarrassing.

Yet the only reason he didn’t yank the stupid item off of his head and rip it to shreds was because his pride.

Plus, he didn’t want the former red Barian pestering him for eternity on how he didn’t keep his word. He was annoying enough as of now.

However, he didn’t want to risk being embarrassed anymore, especially by the carrot head, Vector.

So, during lunch, Shark decided to hang out at the library which he was currently doing. Gently leaning against one of the aisles, he exhaled in slight relief.

This was a rather foolproof plan in his opinion considering Vector never went near a library as he always proclaimed that “books were for Durbe’s.”

So far, it had worked, much to the delight of the squid hat wearing teenager.

However, he was bored out of wits and began to shuffle through a nearby bookshelf to ease the tediousness of hiding from Vector.  
  
"Shark,” he froze at the sudden call of his name. “May I ask why you are wearing a squid hat?"

The male Kamishiro twin glanced over to find the light haired best friend of Yuma standing beside him, clutching a book.  
  
Coolly, he responded, “Lost a bet to Alito. It was this or him asking Rio out.”

"But why are you in the library? Yuma informed me that you do not enjoy being in what he called ‘Durbe’s kingdom.’”  
  
"Trying to hide from Vector," Ryoga explained in a flat tone, purposely ignoring the part about his good friend, Durbe. "This is embarrassing enough as it is. I really don't need him making it worse."  
  
“Oh,” A pause, “I see.”

An awkward silence filled the atmosphere around them until…  
  
"SHAAAAKKKUUUU!! WHERE ARE YOU?! I WANNA SEE HOW THE SEA KING LOOKS IN HIS NEW CROWN!!" cried a voice so loudly, both males cringed.  
  
Almost immediately, the two boys heard several people telling the intruder to be quiet.  
  
"Dammit," the Water-type duelist murmured to himself as he quickly looked for an exit to avoid the teasing that would most likely ensue from the carrot head, Vector.  
  
"SHAKKU!!" a loud whisper was abruptly heard from behind the male whom tensed. No…It couldn’t be…  
  
Astral seemed to widen his eyes in slight shock, and the former leader of the Barians slowly twisted around to find Vector, grinning from ear to ear. Dammit.  
  
"That's an improvement to you, Shakku. You look even more like a dork," the former mad prince commented, chuckling as he placed his fingers to his lips.  
  
A dark expression was visible on the tentacle haired male as he clenched his fist in annoyance.  
  
"..."  
  
"Oh come on, Sharkster, I'm only playing with youuu~" the carrot head pressed, but Ryoga only rolled his eyes in response, attempting to not let his rage get the better of him. "Really! I mean it hides your ugly little face better than your tentacle hair can~. Ya know we should just start calling you ‘Tentacles’ by now."

At this point, Shark lost it and pounced on the purple eyed person. The indigo haired male began attempting to land blows to Vector’s face, but the carrot head just laughed and easily dodged the punches.  
  
Astral, who was forgotten the moment the former mad prince appeared, stood a small distance away, watching the two teenagers fight with no idea how to fix the situation.

However, at that moment, the black haired duelist known as Yuma walked into the scene in a seemingly clueless way, “Hey Astral, what’s taki-“

He paused upon seeing Ryoga and the Shingetsu boy to which he flinched, “E-eh?!”

Almost immediately, the heterochromatic male was overlooked once more as Yuma rushed over, attempting to get Ryoga out of his fury by shaking him on the shoulder with all his might.

“Shark!” he cried as his shaking increased, but the Kamishiro boy was filled with too much rage that he accidentally elbowed the younger boy in the gut.

"Ow!" the Tsukumo teenager cried as he took a step back, clasping his stomach.

At that moment, his best friend closed the gap between them as he called in a worried tone, “Yuma! Are you okay?”

"Y-Yeah. Just hurts," was the response of the former WDC champion as he kept his hands near his belly. "I…I need S-Shark and Vector to-“

The Tsukumo male was cut off however as Vector, who got bored of dodging hits at some point, instantly spoke in a mocking voice, "Hey Shakku, with you on top of me, all we need is a camera, and we're ready to go."

Ryoga halted his moving before stumbling off of the Shingetsu boy. He stared at Vector in a slightly horrified manner.

A slight chuckle escaped Vector’s lips as the other two males watched; one in an uncomfortable manner while the other, confused.

"C-Can it, you sick bastard," Shark growled suddenly, standing up and pacing off immediately.

The last thing he heard was Astral asking what Vector had meant to which Yuma stuttered a ‘shut up’ or something.

Whatever. He didn’t care. He just wanted to get back to hiding from everyone until school was over.  
\--

It was after school as Ryoga sat by his lonesome in a bar-like structure that was located in the newly renovated Kamishiro mansion. In front of him sat a half full cup of tea while the squid hat was carelessly laying a couple of inches away from the boy.  
   
His housemates, including the carrot head idiot, were out performing whatever after school activities they did to pass the time during the afternoon.  
  
The former king sighed as he brought the cup to his lips and took a sip, attempting to forget all the humiliating events that had happened to him today.

“Ryoga,” someone called his name suddenly, and the Kamishiro youngster turned to find the thin figure of Rio, his twin, approaching him.  
  
"Hm?"   
  
"You took off the squid hat," his sister noted in an amused tone as she decided to lean against the bar-like structure.

He grunted in response at first.  
  
Afterwards, he spoke in a nonchalant voice, "Of course. Vector already had a joy ride making fun of me today."

At the mention of the orange haired boy, Rio seemed to pout for a moment, but when she spotted the squid hat on the surface, she picked it up and began to examine it.

It remained that way for a few moments, and Shark assumed that meant no more pestering questions.

"Why did you wear it?”

Nope, he was wrong.

"Lost a bet."

"To who?"

"......Alito.”

A snicker escaped Rio’s lips as her twin scowled.

She stopped before smiling coyly, "Ok, ok, I'll stop, but why wear a squid hat?"  
  
"I dunno. Ask Alito."  
  
Rolling her eyes, Rio continued, "How long were you supposed to wear it?"   
  
"All day during school. Or until Alito saw me again, but I don't care."  
  
"Oh Ryoga," she replied, laughing quietly at how her brother was so amusing at times.  
  
However, the calm atmosphere the twins were sharing was abruptly broken when Vector and Alito poked their heads inside and said, "TENTACLES OOOOOO~."  
  
They took off laughing afterwards, with no surprise, Ryoga running after them, claiming he'd do unpleasant things to the two boys when he caught up.  
  
Rio watched in mild surprise at the sudden turn of events before sighing and placing her hands, which were still gripping the orange fashion item, to her face.  
  
Oh Ryoga....


	4. Vector Shingetsu has a crush?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy belated Mother's Day, Mom! This was written for my mom who likes Gorgonicshipping. Carry on.

**School Shenanigans  
Chapter 4 - Vector Shingetsu has a crush?**

Vector, or formerly known as Rei Shingetsu, was not particularly a school person. Why? He found it a waste of time.

So, when he, along with the Barian Emperors, had been revived as normal humans, they had been expected to begin attending some form of school.

All of them, except Vector, went to Heartland Academy. And that was because he considered school useless. Well, partially.

The second reason was he didn’t want to be known as the clumsy yet positive Rei he was not.

However, everyone, excluding Ryoga, persisted that he return, and after a while, he begrudgingly came back to the academy.

Of course, many people claimed “Rei was back!” but the former mad prince was quick to shoot down those news. Instead, he claimed he was the “better, cooler” twin of Rei and that his “brother” was currently attending another academy over in Spartan City.

All of his classmates save the ones who knew the truth, fell for the trick and eventually began to stop comparing him to Rei.

That was a relief, but the carrot head still did find attending the academy a waste.

Of course, it was more entertaining than moping about in the Kamishiro mansion like he had for the first weeks.

Maybe he enjoyed it more because he got a kick out of being able to mess with Shark more often, or perhaps it was because he got to see….

Vigorously shaking his head in an attempt to rid those thoughts, Vector gazed downwards to see if he had put his uniform on correctly.

After a quick scan, he exited his room, grabbing his backpack on the way out.

A yawn escaped his lips as the carrot head sat and slid down the rail of the stairs, giggling a little upon seeing he passed Shark climbing down the stairs. When he heard the tentacle haired male began to shout several angry words, his giggles turned into laughter. 

Upon reaching the bottom, he jumped off and turned back to see Shark glaring at him. He responded by flashing a cocky grin.

The carrot head proceeded to pace towards the kitchen where a man with light blonde hair, otherwise known as Mach, stood, making breakfast. Durbe was beside him, watching intently. Meanwhile, Rio rested against the bar-like structure, having a failed conversation with Alito and Girag as both were too focused on eating a bowl of cereal to notice she was talking. Lastly, Mizael stood near the entrance, sipping a cup of tea like he did almost every morning.

“Morning, my loyal subjects! Your king has appeared!” Vector immediately greeted, attempting to tease the members in the room. However, this backfired as all of them save Mach and Durbe, gave the orange haired boy an odd look.

Then, the only female began to chuckle, and the purple eyed boy could feel his face heat up slightly. Gazing away, the carrot head immediately scuttled to the side when Ryoga entered.  
  
Unsurprisingly, the other Barian emperors had returned to consuming their morning items, much to the relief of Vector.

Watching the group with curiosity, the former mad prince saw Durbe approach the female twin, handing her a plate of what looked like an omelet.

“Thank you Durbe,” she replied sweetly and began to munch on her food. All the while, Ryoga watched, narrowing his eyes at the former knight every now and then. However, he said nothing.

Rolling his eyes at the scene, Vector spun around and exited the Kamishiro residence, intent on heading off to school already.

When he stepped outside, the Shingetsu boy beamed at the beautiful weather. He began his journey by strolling down the street, taking in the pretty scenery around him.

It was peaceful, and the boy was glad he had decided to go alone. However, a few minutes into his walk, he noticed a certain black haired boy trudging in the distance. Squinting, Vector realized it was the young duelist, Yuma, but unusually, the light haired male known as Astral was not with him.  
  
Eh whatever.

"Hey Yuma-kun!" he called after the boy as he took off running towards him. "Hold up!"

A slightly alarmed Tsukumo teenager froze and gazed upwards to find the carrot head almost crashing into him. However, at the last minute, Vector dodged and stopped a few inches away from the younger boy.

"Uhh...hi Vector," the black haired boy greeted, waving awkwardly.

"Say….where's Astral?"

"O-oh him? Um, he wasn't feeling well so my mom let him stay home," Yuma replied casually, avoiding eye contact with the former mad prince.

"Ohhh I see~. Well, don't worry Yuma-kun, ‘cause I'm sure Astral will be okay in a jiffy!" Vector chirped in a light attempt to ease the concern he spotted in his companion's eyes.

A slight laugh escaped the Tsukumo teenager as his small smile evolved into a full-on grin. 

"I guess so!" he chimed, somewhat returning to his usual silly attitude. "Come on! We should get going 'cause I don't wanna be late for school."

"Alright, alright," the purple eyed male muttered, waving his hand in dismissal before he took off running. "See if you can catch me, Yuma-kun!"

"H-Hey!" the Tsukumo teenager cried, chasing after the carrot head in response.

This continued for a few minutes as the two unknowingly approached Heartland Academy with each step, but before they could arrive, the black haired duelist finally caught up to the Shingetsu boy. However, right at that moment, he lost his footing and collapsed onto the carrot head, knocking the rather light schoolbag that belonged to Vector into the air.

To make matters worse, the contents, which consisted of papers, flew out of the bag and gently began to shower around the two teenage boys.

Yuma, upon realizing he was on top of the carrot head, flinched and crawled off, only to stare around in awed surprise at the sight.

On the other hand, Vector immediately began to grasp all the papers, hopeful the other duelist wouldn’t spot that paper.

Eventually, he had a majority of the escaped papers in his arms, but sadly, he hadn’t found _that_ one.

To make matters worse, the black haired boy noticed a slightly crumpled paper and picked it up curiously. Unfurling the sheet, Yuma began to study it but widened his eyes upon realizing what the paper hid.

"V-Vector," he spluttered. "Why do you have a pictu-"

"Shh!" hushed the orange haired male as he ripped the paper from the Tsukumo boy in embarrassment. "No one's supposed to know....."

"Vector," pouted the black haired duelist in annoyance. "What do you mean?"

The former Barian emperor paused as he gave his companion an incredulous look.

Was he serious?

Regardless, the Shingetsu male tried to abandon the conversation as he took off walking, purposely ignoring Yuma and his question.

"Vectooooor," whined the former WDC Champion as he followed after. "Why did you have a picture of you and Rio kissing?"

Freezing, the former mad prince felt his face turn an unbelievable shade of red that could put a ripe tomato to shame. 

At that moment it seemed the Tsukumo boy caught on, "Vector.....Do you like Shark's sister?!"

"N-No," stuttered the carrot head in a horrible attempt to cover his deep dark secret.

"You're lying!" Yuma huffed, clenching his fists. "You do like her, huh?"

A sigh escaped Vector's lips as he turned to face the black haired duelist. Closing his eyes, he felt his cheeks burn, "Just...Just a little." 

"Vector!!!" the young boy cried, placing the palm of his hands against his cheeks as he stared at his companion with wide eyes. "Shark's not gonna like this when he finds out!"

The former mad prince hadn't meant to snap but unfortunately did as he abruptly snapped open his eyes and glared daggers at the tanned boy, "Don't you dare Yuma!"

The black haired boy flinched at his friend's sudden change in attitude but slowly nodded in reassurance, "I-I'll try not to."

"Hmph, you better not, Yuma-kun~, or I'll do some pretty mean things to Astral~," Vector threatened but masked it with a singsong voice.

"Hey! Leave Astral outta this!" The former WDC champion cried, pouting angrily at his companion.

"Then, don't tell Shark. Okay, Yuma-kun?" The orange haired male replied, grinning almost immediately.

"Okay, okay! I promise I won't."

"Good." 

With that it was quiet between the two when the Shingetsu boy finally remembered they had been heading to Heartland Academy.

"Come on Yuma-kun! Let's be the first ones to school today so everyone can have heart attacks when they find out you were early!" Vector teased, grabbing his companion's arm and dragging him along.  
Yuma glowered at his friend but complied.

The two took off, and Vector could only hope that the black haired boy would indeed keep his promise.

 

  
Vector sat by his lonesome, yawning to himself as he looked through the pages of the book he held in his hand. He was waiting for class to end as he somewhat eavesdropped on the conversation Yuma and Kotori were having.

It was standard stuff he supposed. The black haired duelist was just talking about how his roommate was improving on his culinary skills. Kotori was just nodding, making comments every now and then.

Boring stuff really. 

Stifling a yawn, the orange haired boy closed his eyes, lightly reflecting on his conversation with Yuma that morning.

He really hoped that idiot would be able to keep his mouth, because if not, Vector would be in loads of trouble with Ryoga. Plus, he would probably be humiliated by the other Barian emperors, including Rio herself, and that was something he really didn't need.

"Come on, Vector. We still have more classes to go to," he heard someone call his name suddenly and snapped his eyes open to see students exiting the room. However, Yuma and Kototi stood side by side, next to his desk.

"Right," he muttered, grabbing his belongings and immediately following the two childhood friends, being quiet as they continued their conversation.

He was thankful as it left him to his thoughts once more. The former mad prince's thoughts flickered back to the ice queen, Rio.

Why did he like her? 

Of course, she wasn't ugly. In fact, she was really pretty. Not smoking hot, but she wasn’t bad for what she was.

Perhaps it was her personality? No, he had told himself often, but he didn't find himself quite believing that most of the time. He did admit she was annoying at times an-

"Bye Yuma, Uh, Vector!" the Shingetsu boy heard the green haired girl as she was immediately swept away by the former gladiator, Alito.

A few moments, after the two were gone, the Tsukumo teenager sighed and shook his head, "I wish he wouldn't take her while we were talking..."

"Sorry Yuma-kun!" the orange haired mockingly apologized as he stood where Yuma's childhood friend had previously stood.

The tanned boy gave a pout but gazed forwards, nudging his companion moments later with a goofy grin, "Hey Vector, is that your girlfriend over there?"

Glaring at the boy, the carrot head averted his gaze to find the female Kamishiro twin walking with the gray haired Durbe as her brother stalked behind the two with an unreadable expression.

"Shut up!" he immediately growled afterwards, feeling his cheeks flush a dark tint of red.

Yuma laughed, obviously amused at his friend's reaction.

"You said I couldn't tell anyone, but you didn't say I couldn't tease," the tanned boy remarked, only grinning wider when Vector huffed and turn away.

"Fine, you wanna play that game? Let's talk about how you totally wanna smooch Astral!" the carrot head teased as he turned back to his friend, smirking when the younger boy recoiled; his face colored beet red.

"I don't wanna smooch Astral! And don't bring him in to this 'cause I'm teasing you over your crush on Rio!" the dark haired boy immediately cried a little too loudly, not noticing the errors of his words.

However, moments later the Tsukumo teenager realized what he had just said as he placed his palms against his mouth in embarrassment.

"AH! I'm sorry, Vector!" he immediately apologized, but the carrot head had begun to stare at the ground; his face having drained of any color at all.

People were looking at the two, but much to the Shingetsu boy's relief, none of the crowd knew the two. 

"Vector likes Rio?" the orange haired youth heard a voice say in a mixture of amusement and confusion.

Well, except for one……….Life really didn’t like Vector at the moment.

Timidly, he peered around to find the proud figure of Mizael standing behind him; a giant ugly smirk on his face.”

“What?" the carrot head asked, immediately trying to match the dragon tamer's smirk with a frown. "Of course, I like her. She's pretty nice...and annoying...but my point still stands."  
  
"Oh so you think she's pretty?" the blonde mocked, somehow grinning wider when Vector placed his hands against his face, blushing harder.

"That's not what I meant," he muttered moments later.

"Of course not."

Vector was to retort when the black haired boy grabbed his wrist and dragged him away from the older male. 

"Come on, Vector-kun," Yuma stated, obviously attempting to end the already uncomfortable situation.

For once, the carrot head allowed himself to be taken away as the dragon tamer laughed at him, obviously amused. 

This was certainly payback for the times he teasingly called him "Miza-chan the princess."

Staring at the ground, Vector didn't notice that his companion had led him to his next class.

"Here Vector-kun," his friend informed the carrot head as he took a step back and waved. "Bye! See you at lunch!"

Nodding, the former mad prince entered the classroom without another word.

 

 

The Shingetsu boy stood beside a chattering Yuma and Kotori as they headed toward the group that consisted of Yuma's school friends.

After the whole incident with Mizael, the orange haired boy had decided to avoid the Barian Emperors all together and just hang out with Yuma and the Numbers Club.

"Come on," he heard the black haired duelist call as he approached the group whom were busy eating and chattering away. Sitting in the last empty space left, Vector completed the circle of friends that made up the Numbers Club. Around him sat the young teenagers that he had previously created a false friendship with. Regardless, when they saw him, they gave a quick wave before returning to their conversation.

Remaining quiet, the former mad prince turned to find Yuma already stuffing his face with food as Kotori tried getting him to slow his intake. 

"Hey! Can we join you~?" the Shingetsu boy heard a familiar as well as female voice sing. 

Looking up from his food momentarily, the tanned teenager of the group furiously nodded his head.

"Sweet!" Vector heard and upon gazing upwards, found the blue haired ice queen, Rio. She stood in her uniform with Durbe at her side while her twin, Ryoga, stood behind her.

Swallowing, the Tsukumo teenager faced his companion with the carroty hair color and asked, "Hey, can you move a little so we can make space for Rio, Shark, and Durbe?"

"Of course, Yuma-kun!" the former mad prince chirped as he proceeded to ask the others of the group to make space. They complied and eventually there was a gap large enough to fit three people. Immediately the three former Barian Emperors sat in the space. 

Durbe was the farthest away, sitting next to Yuma, whom had begun picking off of Kotori's food when she wasn't paying attention. Ryoga sat in the middle, obviously to create some space between the fairy duelist and the ice queen. Finally, Rio was situated next to Vector, greeting everyone in a cheery tone.

Upon this realization, the carrot head began to gaze downwards, taking a small bite from his food every now and then.

"Vector, are you feeling okay?"

"Hmm?" he responded, his eyes looking up to meet the magenta ones of Rio's. Nodding his head, he replied nonchalantly, "Yeah. Just uh, tired."

Furrowing her eyebrows, the ice user tilted her head upwards as she proclaimed proudly, "You were full of energy this morning!"

"Well I'm all burnt out. Staring at Shakky Poo’s ugly face takes a lot out of me," the orange haired male countered in response, smiling a little when he noticed the male Kamishiro twin glare at him. 

The blue haired girl rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to respond when she was cut off.

"My, Ryoga, I didn't figure you would like _Vector_ as a suitor for Rio," commented the blonde dragon tamer known as Mizael. He stood over the somewhat large group, smirking at Vector. "Though in all honesty, I think Durbe would probably be better."

The boy with the tentacle hairstyle froze for a millisecond before turning to look at the only one standing, "What do you mean?"

"This is rather amusing. I'm assuming you didn't hear what Yuma said this morning, huh?" the blonde replied nonchalantly, ignoring the glower the former mad prince gave him.

Immediately, Shark turned his attention to the black haired boy who had been looking away, trying not to intervene. 

"What did you say, Yuma?" The former king hissed in a questioning tone.

"N-Nothing.”

"Nothing? He only means he exclaimed to everyone that Vector likes your sister."

"What?" Both of the twins were heard saying; Rio in surprise while Ryoga in anger.

Vector by this time had started to make his escape when the former princess yanked him back into the group, staring at him harshly.

"Is this true?" the twins asked loudly, practically staring into the carrot head's soul.

The mad prince kept his gaze downwards, so embarrassed and unsure how to respond. Everyone, and he meant everyone, was staring at him. The Numbers Club had expressions of shock, confusion, or both. Yuma, however, was gazing downwards; a look of shame on his face.

Perhaps it was all the stares, but the former Barian immediately tugged away from Rio’s grip and stood up, immediately running away.

He ignored all the cries for him to come back and quickly rushed into the restroom, hiding in one of the stalls for protection.

Now that he was alone, Vector exhaled several times in an attempt to calm himself down. After much persistence, it worked, and while he felt relatively better, the boy didn’t want to go back.

Not only did Mizael reveal the carrot head’s crush to a crowd, he did it in front of _her_. Without his permission!

His breath had increased once more, and the teenage boy just wanted to punch everything in sight.

“Vector? Are you in here?”

The carrot head froze as he recognized the voice to be no one other than the ice queen’s. He remained silent, hopeful she would leave.

However, he heard several shuffles, and then, he heard her once again, “There you are!”

Gazing upwards, he saw the blue haired girl peering at him from the top of the stall and nearly flinched.

Damn her…She just couldn’t leave him be.

Automatically, he turned away and tried focusing on anything but the female Kamishiro twin that was peeking at him from the top of the other stall.

“Can we get out of the restroom now? I don’t wanna be in here,” she whined after a few moments, obviously not comfortable in their current environment.

Begrudgingly, the carrot head exited the stall as well as the restroom with Rio trailing behind him. When she wouldn’t leave, he turned to face her with a dull expression.

“Are you okay?”

He didn’t response.

Huffing, the ice queen gave him a disapproving look to which he ignored. He already felt humiliated to the point of not speaking. However, the boy failed to notice the sudden smile that formed on Rio’s mouth as she began to approach him. Suddenly the orange haired male felt the blue haired girl’s hands on his chest as she planted a kiss on his cheek.

The Kamishiro girl then pulled away grinning and walked off, waving to Vector. Placing his hand on his cheek in an awkward fashion, the carrot head felt his face redden for the millionth time that day. It didn’t help that several lingering girls had caught the sight and had proceeded to start gushing over how cute the scene was.

Now embarrassed to the point of no return, the carrot head gazed down.

Today was such a humiliating day……But at least he got a peck from Rio…

Mizael and Yuma were so going to pay though.

That he knew for sure.


	5. Vector Shingetsu takes revenge!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOSH. I forgot I owned an AO3 account! Anyways, have this chapter. Hints of keyshipping and everything that's nice. YAY.

School Shenanigans  
Chapter 5 - Vector Shingetsu takes revenge!

It was safe to say Astral had missed a lot on his day out. As when the boy made it to Heartland Academy, he found Ryoga and Rio arguing, which wasn't unusual per say, but this particular argument seemed more intense than normal...but who knew since he didn't even know what they were arguing over in the first place. Either way, Rio eventually stormed off with the indigo haired boy trailing behind her, still grumbling about something. Moving on, Astral noticed Durbe and Mizael were missing, and when the former alien asked Alito and Gilag, the two buffoons had just burst into several fits of laughter. However, the duo later explained that the carrot head, Vector, had gotten and burned Mizael's Tachyon plush, much to the dismay of the blonde dragon tamer. In an attempt to be the mature one of the former emperors, Durbe suggested that the two friends take the day off to hold a funeral for the doll which was something the blonde agreed to almost immediately. As for Vector...Well, he was gone as well, but Astral, as well as the rest of the group, assumed he had skipped school to go terrorize the missing duo some more.

Even though the former astral being was informed on the current events, he couldn't help but wonder how these events were even triggered...And when he asked around, everyone, including Yuma, just avoided the topic altogether.

Eventually, he gave up his quest for knowledge and decided he would just catch up on his school assignments.

When lunch came, he figured he would do his homework. So, sitting cross-legged, he did the assignments, occasionally taking a bite from his lunch. Yuma sat beside him like usual, glancing over his shoulder every now and then while talking to the members of the Numbers Club and eating.

Eventually, the light-haired boy completed a majority as he put the sheets of homework away and fully engrossed himself into completing his meal.

"Are you done?" the black-haired duelist asked almost instantly as he popped a piece of the lunch Astral had prepared for him into his mouth and chewed mindlessly.

"No, but I completed a majority of it...I will finish it when we return home," his best friend responded casually as he took another small bite from his food. Yuma didn't respond but instead took to giving his friend an occasional glance. Astral said nothing. However, he couldn't help but notice that the tanned boy was acting a little unusual. It was as if he was troubled over something unknown to the light-haired male.

Eventually, lunch was over, and it was time for the group of friends to return to class which is what they began to do. However, upon Yuma's request, which he showed by clasping his hand with Astral's, the duo decided to linger behind.

Keeping his stare focused on the embrace the black-haired youth's hand made with his, the former spirit couldn't help but notice how pleasant the sight was. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to focus on the action for much longer as he heard the male call his name.

"Astral."

The former spirit glanced upwards to meet the ruby eyes of his companion, "Yes?"

"I'm sorry," Yuma immediately apologized, bowing his head in shame as his grip on the light blue haired boy's hand tightened.

"...Yuma?"

"I-I...Vector said...He was gonna do really mean things to you," the black-haired boy blabbed, keeping his gaze on the ground for a moment before meeting Astral's mismatched eyes with his own red ones. "I...I accidentally...told everyone his s-secret...and, and..."

He trailed off, staring at the floor again as he released his grip and let his hands fall to his side, "I'm sorry I got you into this..."

"Yuma," the former spirit called, intertwining his hands with those of his companion's once more. The Tsukumo boy glanced upwards with a bewildered and flustered expression, "It will be okay."

"B-but Astral-"

"Yuma," the light haired male stated again in a stern voice, "The worst Vector could do is...try and humiliate me...I think...Regardless, it could be worse as whe-"

Astral wasn't allowed to finish though as Yuma immediately tugged his arm away and enveloped his best friend in a sudden hug.

"Yeah...You're right...It's a little weird to say this...but I...I think I'd rather have him...humiliate us...than lose you again," the tanned boy murmured before pulling away and giving the light-skinned teenager a grin. "Well...I guess we should get going."

A nod from Astral said he agreed.

So, the younger of the duo began to stride towards the interior of the school, holding his best friend's hand once more. The pale male only followed after, not uttering a word.

When the pair reached the inside of the building, Yuma was quick to release his hold on the former spirit's hand as he proceeded to tell him that he had to get to class. With that, he waved and took off running in such a speed, he was gone from the pale male's view within seconds.

Astral then noticed he only had a few minutes to get to his own course. So, he decided to start heading over immediately.

However, it seemed fate had other plans...

Just as he was close to exiting the hallway, the pale skinned boy heard a voice call his name.

"Astral~. Astraaaal~," the voice continued to sing, causing the named to stop in his tracks.

"... Who's there?" the light-haired male asked, standing around but flinched just a little upon discovering a silhouette approach him. However, after a few more steps, he was able the recognize the stranger to be no one other than the carrot head, Vector.

"Don't worry, Asu-kun! It's just a-me, Vector~," chimed the former mad prince, chuckling to himself upon spotting the heterochromatic boy tense a little in response.

"... What do you want?"

"You act as if I want to harm you~! I'm awfully hurt, Asu-kun since I thought all those nasty feelings during the war were gooooone," the orange-haired teenager replied, pouting a little to seem more genuine, but Astral knew better.

The male with light blue hair didn't respond, only staring at the other in a cautious state.

"Ah well, can't blame ya, buuuut...I didn't come here to hurt you or Yuma-kun. I can't say the same for Miza-chan though," Vector stated after a few moments of silence, laughing to himself as he said the last part.

Astral remained silent, eyeing the Shingetsu boy still...He highly doubted that the former mad prince came in peace, but he was acting tame enough...

"Anyways, I'm getting off topic," the orange-haired boy continued, seemingly not minding that he was having a one-sided conversation. "I just stopped by to tell you that I noticed that you and Yuma-kun have a rather close relationship...And I wanted to suggest a thing for you two to try out!"

Cocking an eyebrow, the paler of the two replied, "I do not follow..."

"Haven't you seen couples, Astral?"

"...Couples?" That was a new word for Astral. Of course, he had heard of 'couple' which meant 'small number of things', but 'couples' was new... Perhaps it was plural for 'couple'?

Regardless, the former astral being failed to see what relevance this had with his relationship with the Tsukumo boy.

Anyways, after several moments of Vector resting his face in his palm, the carrot head responded, "Uh...Two people...that have a very special relationship... And..."

The former Barian Emperor paused then shrugged, "I dunno. It's like more special..And uh, sometimes, they do dumb stuff like hold hands...which you two idiots do like every day."

"... I see," the pale male responded, not really sure what to say.

"... ANYWAYS," the carrot head suddenly announced, clearing his throat afterwards. "As I was saying, I just wanted to suggest a thing for you two to try."

Astral failed to respond which resulted in Vector chuckling.

"Don't worry, Astral! Trust me on this one, will ya? I was just gonna ask if you'd consider calling him 'Booma'. It's a cute little pet name I made up for the dummy!"

"...Booma?"

"Clever, huh? It's a combination of 'boo' and 'Yuma'! I'm such a genius," the carrot head proclaimed, grinning a little too goofy for Astral's liking.

It was silent afterwards before the former astral being, in a state of curiosity, asked, "What is a boo?"

Silence resumed as the chipper one of the duo gave an exasperated sigh and replied in a flat tone, "A nickname. Usually to show all that mushy gushy crap you have for your partner."

Partner? Yuma was his partner...

"Hmm..."

"So, yeah? You like my awesome suggestion?"

"I suppose so," the pale male murmured in response, deep in thought.

"Excellent. Well, I'm out. I gotta terrorize Miza-chan some more before I go home. Bye, bye Asu-kun," the carrot head stated, signaling the end of the conversation as he took off, laughing to himself that his plan had most likely worked.

By then, the bell had already rang, signifying lunch was officially over. Basically, Astral was late to class which resulted in the youth panicking a bit and running off.

Still, the topic of his and Vector's conversation was fresh on his mind.

While the boy had sounded sincere enough, Astral wasn't very sure if this was the carrot head's attempt to humiliate him or Yuma. There was a possibility. A strong one at that as Vector was quite talented in deceiving others.

However, the pale male would be sure to ask Kotori what 'boo' was.

Maybe she'd know. And if she knew, then maybe it would help him decide.

To summarize, Vector was right.

Kotori, with much confusion, confirmed so when Astral had asked her.

So, the former spirit figured it wouldn't be too bad to refer to the black-haired teenager as 'Booma'.

Still, he hadn't really any idea when, or how for that matter, he would call Yuma by this name.

Regardless, he tried not to think about it much as he shifted his attention back to the teacher and today's lesson. However, a few minutes in, he ended up averting his stare to the boy, also known as Yuma, sitting next to him. Per usual, the boy wasn't paying attention. Instead, the younger duelist was scribbling on a paper, incredibly focused on writing down whatever he was thinking about.

Finding his partner was fine for the moment, he went back to watching the teacher again. However, just as it was finally getting interesting, the former astral being heard the Tsukumo male whisper his name. The pale teenager only tilted his head to the side to find the tanned youth facing him with his hand outstretched. In his hand sat a folded sheet of paper.

"Take it," Yuma said in a hushed voice to which Astral did.

As he held the fragile item, Astral examined it quickly before he began to carefully open it, trying his best to not make any loud sound. When he completed his goal, he found a small message, in his companion's handwriting, on the little sheet.

'I'm bored :P' It read, and the heterochromatic adolescent couldn't help but roll his eyes. Still, he decided to answer as he placed the sheet of paper on the desk and picked up his pencil.

'Perhaps you should pay attention then' Astral wrote in response before folding it and handing the note towards his best friend. The black haired youth immediately took it with excitement, making a few noises as he hastily unfurled the sheet. However, when he read the former spirit's message, a huff was heard...and then more scribbles. Afterwards, Astral watched the Tsukumo boy push the item back to him.

Rolling his eyes once more, he took it, unfolded the paper, and read the message.

'But Astral, its boriiiiing Dx'

After reading the message, and dully noting that 'Dx' was what Yuma had called an 'emoticon', the former spirit began to write a reply.

'Consider its usefulness for later duels.'

After returning the note once more to the black-haired boy, the pale male patiently waited, and once again, acquired the paper in his hands.

'But I'm already the best! XP I'm the WDC champion. I saved the world. Heh, I even saved you.'

Rolling his eyes, the older of the pair of friends began to write his response.

'Of course. I failed to realize you are absolutely the best, Booma.'

With that, Astral handed the sheet back to Yuma and took to watching the instructor. Upon reading the note once more, the tanned boy's eyes widened in shock, and in a confused and too loud tone, said, "Booma?!"

So, it was no surprise when most, if not all, of his classmates turned to stare at Yuma as a faint blush formed on the duelist's cheeks in embarrassment.

Even worse, the teacher seemed to have heard as she immediately turned to face the boy, obviously annoyed that the black-haired youth had interrupted her, "Excuse me?"

"N-nothing!" Yuma was quick to respond as he quickly tried to hide the note. Much to his dismay, the teacher seemed to notice as she approached the boy and extended her hand.

"Let me see what you're hiding, Yuma," she demanded to which the black-haired teenager flinched and shook his head quickly. Pestered, the teacher spoke again. "Yuma, give it to me or detention."

Hesitantly, the tanned male complied as he handed the sheet with his and Astral's handwriting over to the teacher. Almost immediately, the teacher began to unfold the paper, and with every intent of embarrassing as well as teaching a lesson to the Tsukumo boy, she began to read it out loud.

For the most part, Yuma just gazed around, hopeful the instructor would be just a little merciful and stop before she could reach the end of the conversation. However, no such luck happened for the boy.

"Of course. I failed to realize you are absolutely the best, Booma," the teacher's monotone voice rang throughout the class. Instantly, barely audible whispers were heard from the Tsukumo boy's peers. The instructor paid no mind however as she then turned to Astral and asked, "Astral, I am to assume you were the one swapping notes with Yuma?"

The light haired male confirmed so by nodding his head, and then, gasps, whispers, and about one squeal erupted throughout the room.

"Yuma and Astral are dating?"

"Aww, Booma is such a cute name!"

"Told you they were dating!"

Yuma could only remain silent as his face flushed a vibrant shade of red. He wasn't dating his best friend!

Glancing over to see his best friend's reaction, the tanned youth turned to find the girl who sat in front of Astral was pestering him with questions about the "secrets of their relationship". However, the pale male only blinked and asked what she meant in response.

"ENOUGH!" the instructor's voice shouted as she placed the paper back on the black-haired boy's desk and stalked over to the front of the classroom. "Tsukumo and World's relationship, whatever it is, is not the focus of this class. So, drop it, and let us continue with the lesson."

A few groans rang throughout the classroom, but the students, with much disappointment, did as they been instructed.

And for once, Yuma was grateful they were returning to the lesson.

Yuma hadn't been speaking to Astral. In fact, Yuma hadn't been speaking to anyone at all.

This worried his friends, especially Kotori. It also didn't help that people had started to spread rumors about the boy's false relationship with his best friend.

As for Astral, he didn't really seem to mind other than the fact several girls had began to start following him, often cheering, "There's true yaoi in the world!"

Besides that, it was really not a problem, but the former spirit did notice that it seemed to trouble Yuma.

And with seeing Yuma bothered, the light haired boy began to feel bad as well...As if he had somehow wronged his friend. However, when he asked, the Tsukumo boy would just shake his head and claim Astral hadn't done anything wrong.

Not that the pale male believed him, but he didn't pester him on it further.

However, when the duo began to make their way home like always, Kotori had asked Astral to speak to the younger duelist; claiming that if anyone could make him talk, it was Astral himself.

The light-haired male had only nodded and promised to try his best.

So, here the duo sat, in the attic. Yuma had situated himself in the hammock, sorting through his deck while Astral watched the 'magic box' without much interest.

The reasoning being he was too focused on how to try talking to Yuma. Sadly, he had no clue how, but the former spirit needed to talk to the boy sometime today...

So, nonchalantly, he called, "Yuma."

He turned to face the tanned boy and found the deck of cards sprawled out on Yuma's chest as the younger of the duo began to quickly collect his cards.

Upon gaining his composure, the boy replied, "Y-Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah! I'm feeling awesome. I mean I had a lot of awesome du-"

"Yuma."

"What?"

"Do not lie to me. You have not been acting normal since the incident i-"

Yuma interjected, "I don't wanna talk about that."

"But Yu-"

"Astraaaal," the black-haired boy whined, interrupting his friend once more. "Let's just forget it happened, okay?"

"Very well, but you seemed shaken up by the situation."

"W-Well, of course! I don't want people to think I'm dating my best friend!"

"Dating...? What is that? I don't believe you have mentioned it before."

"Oh. Um, remember that one time you asked me what kissing was?"

"I believe so...It was the odd gesture those two people were doing on the magic box, correct?"

"TV, but yeah. People who are dating usually kiss. Or sometimes, they hold hands."

"Hold hands..." Astral repeated, narrowing his eyes as he took this information in. "Yuma...are you sure we are not dating?"

A thud was then heard as the black-haired boy fell off the hammock in surprise. However, he immediately sat up in bewilderment, "W-What?!"

"Well, you said some people who are dating hold hands...and Vector did mention that we held hands often and that we had a special relationship," Astral continued, deep in thought. "I suppose it would make sense for him suggesting that I call you 'Booma' then..."

"W-what? Vector?! That-" the duelist began to say but instead, fell silent.

"Hmm?"

"That jerk!" huffed the tanned boy as he stood up, clenching his fists. "I'm gonna get him tomorrow! I knew he would try something, but he took it too far!"

"I don't understand...Care to explain?"

"You know how I said I spilled his secret? And that he was gonna get back at me by doing bad things to you?"

"Yes, but I fail to see the relevance."

"This is his revenge!"

"I don't see how though. He has not exactly caused any harm..."

Yuma paused for a moment before gazing away, "He...He thinks I...like you."

"I thought you did...since we are friends?"

"N-no! Like, dating-like...which I don't, because you're my best friend, Astral!"

"I see."

Silence overcame the two boys as Yuma awkwardly sat beside his best friend. Astral had returned to watching the television, but eventually, his mind drifted towards the conversation that had just occurred.

"Astral."

"Yes?

"Do...Do you ever think..." the black-haired male trailed off, starting at the ground for a moment before continuing, "...of...us dating?"

"I'm not quite certain. It is still an odd topic for me to understand."

"Yeah, me too..." the Tsukumo boy murmured in response, giving a faint laugh before he was quiet again. "Well, I guess I'm going to bed now...Night, Astral...and don't stay up too late, okay?"

Astral nodded in response before noticing ESPer Robin beginning to play, much to his excitement. Eagerly, he fully focused his attention on the show, giving a small grin. The duelist only stared with an amused expression, obviously enjoying the sight of Astral beaming at the TV.

However, before he knew it, he began leaning over to the former spirit and awkwardly placed his lips on his most important's cheek. The light haired boy froze at the action, and momentarily ignoring the show, turned to peer at the reddened Tsukumo teenager.

"S-Sorry," the tanned boy immediately apologized as he stood up and proceeded to climb down the attic, deciding it was probably better he sleep in his bed than the hammock for tonight. "Won't happen again. Night!"

Astral only blinked as he then placed his hand on his cheek, curious about the reasoning for Yuma's abrupt actions.

He'd have to ask Yuma about it tomorrow...but right now, he wanted to enjoy ESPer Robin.


	6. Rio Kamishiro Might Know!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I FINISHED THIS YESTERDAY. I AM GREAT.

School Shenanigans

Chapter 6 - Rio Kamishiro might know!

It was a question Rio “the Ice Queen” Kamishiro hadn’t expected to hear from the likes of the former spirit and first-year, Astral World. She’d been sitting with some of her female friends, trying to avoid their pestering questions regarding her break-up with the gray-haired Durbe.

So, when he approached and asked her for some advice regarding the relationship Yuma and he had, she was a little relieved, because finally, the group of girls stopped. Instead, they took to giggling at the “adorable and clueless Asu-kun”.

Despite her being completely baffled, she agreed to assist him… when she wasn’t near these friends, because knowing them, they would probably try to get as much information as possible to… well, gossip. Afterwards, she shooed the former spirit away with the promise that she’d help him if he came over to her mansion after school ended.

It was obvious he had agreed to her terms and conditions as an hour after school ended for the day, Astral stood at the doorstep, patiently waiting for someone to answer the door. She rushed down the stairs, in a state to answer the door before anyone, aka Vector, reached it. When she did, she swung the door open to find the pale-haired boy.

“I see ya made it Astral,” she noted, moving to the side of the doorframe so he could enter. “Come on in! Everyone but Ryoga and Vector are out… So, no one should bother us… and your little situation.”

“Very well,” he murmured, pausing for a bit as he entered the mansion. “I appreciate you assisting me.”

“No problem!” she chirped, closing the door as she then faced the boy. “If it isn’t a problem, I asked Kotori and Michael to come over and help out.”

“I am fine with that,” Astral stated in response as he peered around in awe at the sight. It seemed he was amazed at the appearance of the household.

Rio was about to continue when at that moment, Vector wandered down the steps of the staircase. He stopped upon spotting the pale-haired boy and grinned in a smug way, “Heeeeeeeeeeeeey Astral, how’d it go? I heard it was great since everyone knows you’re dating Yuma-kun!”

The blue-haired girl only blinked and tilted her head, “… what?”

She immediately turned to Astral for answers but found them when the carrot head continued, “Ooooh. Well, I suggested he called Yuma-kun ‘Booma’ since they’re such a cute couple!”

“Vector,” Rio started, pouting at the boy. “I figured you had something to do with this…”

The Shingetsu boy only smirked proudly, “It’s not exactly a surprise, Merag.”

The ice queen froze in her spot before she gave the former mad prince a disapproving stare, “Vecto-“

“Oop, I gotta go. I just remembered I need to terrorize Miza-chan’s room a little before he gets back. Bye~!” he interrupted suddenly, blowing her a kiss before he ran up the stairs.

The blue-haired girl only flushed in slight embarrassment at the boy’s action. Ever since yesterday, he was starting to be more open about his crush… Luckily, Ryoga hadn’t noticed yet, but it was only a matter of time…

She shoved those thoughts away though as she focused on Astral once more. The boy was only silent before he spoke up, “I was not aware you and Vector were… dating.”

She flinched slightly before shaking her head, “N-No. Uh, we’re not.”

“I see. My mistake.”

They were silent afterwards as the Kamishiro tried to find something to say. Then, she had an idea as she grinned, “You wanna watch TV while we wait for Kotori and Michael? It shouldn’t be too long…”

“Are you referring to the magic box?”

“Magic box? If that means TV, then yeah.”

“Then, yes,” he replied, following after the former princess as they left the room.

After a few moments of pacing through the halls, they arrived. Rio sat on one of the couches as she tossed the remote to Astral. Staring at the item in slight confusion, Astral sat beside her and remained silent. However, he eventually turned to gaze at her with the same puzzled expression.

“What? You never used a remote before?”

He didn’t reply at first as he, instead, took to peering around in thought. Eventually, he murmured in response, “Well, whenever I watch ESPer Robin, it is already set on that channel… and when not, Yuma changes it.”

“Oh, we-” the former princess began to reply but was cut off by the sound of the doorbell suddenly ringing, “Huh. That must be them. Be right back~!”

With that, the blue-haired youth jumped out of her seat and exited the room, returning a few moments with Michael and Kotori.

“So, what did you nee-Oh, hi Astral!” the green-haired girl greeted, waving to the former spirit in slight confusion. This was mainly due to the fact, Rio and Astral didn’t exactly associate with each other… at all.

Anyways, Michael, or III, seemed slightly surprised at Kotori’s greeting as he shifted his attention to find the pale-haired boy seated on the sofa. He regained his composure though as he gave a curt wave.

After this, the two newcomers stood beside each other, unsure what to do until the Mizuki girl turned to Rio and inquired, “Uh, Rio, may I ask why Astral’s here?”

The older female widened her eyes a bit before replying, “I didn’t explain?”

“Afraid not. You just asked us to come over as quickly as possible,” Michael interjected then.

“Oh, I see. Sorry about that. Well, Astra-“

“VECTOR YOU SON OF A BITCH! I’M GOING TO FUCKING MURDER YOU!” yelled a voice, most likely belonging to Shark, from another room.

“Oh no,” Rio groaned in annoyance as she pouted a bit. “Those idiots just have to fight when I have company over.”

No one said anything in response but instead, took to hearing the yelling continue. However, it seemed Rio grew bored (no surprise there considering she lived with them) as she immediately suggested, “Let’s go to my room…. I’ll handle those two later…”

“That’s a good idea!” Kotori chirped almost immediately, smiling a bit awkwardly while the pink-haired nodded.

“What do you say Astral? Sound good?” Rio asked, peering over to the only occupant on the sofa.

“Yes. That is fine.”

“Excellent. Let’s head over before I end up having to do something…”

With that, the quartet took off to the blue-haired female’s room. They took a few minutes to situate themselves. When they were done, the ice queen and Kotori were sharing the bed while Michael sat in a mahogany beanbag Alito had left behind some time ago. As for Astral, he sat on the chair near her desk, gazing around her room.

“Kay, now that we’re away from them, let me tell you why I called you both here,” Rio began, staring at her peers for a moment. “… Astral has a problem.”

Kotori and Michael were silent as they held a puzzled expression.

“Uh, what is it?” the Mizuki female was first to ask, hoping this wasn’t over the sudden implication that Astral and Yuma were dating.

The female twin only gave her friend a quick stare before shifting her gaze to the former spirit.

“Well, how about you explain, Astral?” the Kamishiro sister suggested as she concluded that if anyone could explain, it was the pale-haired boy himself.

“Very well,” Astral replied, falling silent as he thought pensively. “… Yuma has been acting odd… since that incident in class occurred…”

“Do you mean the one that started those rumors about the two of you dating?” Michael questioned.

The pale male closed his eyes before he nodded, “Yes…”

Kotori spoke up then, “Oh, that’s normal Astral. I mean I’m sure Yuma just isn’t accustomed to the idea. I mean… he never really notices how people feel about him…”

“I am aware of that. He is rather oblivious to infatuation,” the light-haired male replied quietly. “But like I said, he was acting very odd… especially when I attempted to speak to him… like you asked.”

“… What’d he say?” Rio inquired as she tried understanding the situation, even if she was at a disadvantage due to her lack of knowledge on the subject.

“Well, he seemed upset upon hearing that Vector and I… had a conversation,” Astral began.

“Oh, the one with the “suggestion”?” She asked, ignoring the puzzled stares she received from Michael and Kotori.

He nodded, “…Then, we got on the topic of dating… Yuma explained dating to the best of his abilities, and I… inquired if we were dating.”

The Kamishiro girl giggled upon hearing this to which the former spirit tilted his head, “Is there something funny?”

“Sorry, sorry. Go on,” Rio urged, giving a small smile.

“Very well… He denied this and proceeded to sit next to me after he fell off of the… hammock…”

“Anything else?” the pink-haired boy asked.

“…Yes. There was one other thing. He asked me if I considered the possibility of us dating,” the pale male answered, not noticing the surprised stares his peers gave him as he closed his eyes.

“Yuma said that?” Kotori asked, not quite believing what she heard.

“Yes, and when he left, he did one of those strange gestures… Kissing, I believe it is called… on my cheek,” the former spirit noted, lightly placing the palm of his hand on his cheek. “… When I asked him this morning about it, he only reddened and said he didn’t know.”

None of Astral’s companions spoke a word as they stared with wide eyes.

However, Rio was quick to regain her composure as she began to speak, “Well, uh, it seems… Yuma has a crush on you.”

“… Crush?”

Before the ice queen could explain, the green-haired girl answered, “Crush is like a person that you have special feelings for, and I guess you would want to date.”

“So,” Astral began, pausing for a bit, “you are saying Yuma has special feelings for me?”

The trio nodded.

“… How does this make you feel?” the blue-haired girl asked.

The former spirit recoiled a bit, “Me?”

“Yes, usually when people find out others have special feelings for them, they are either happy or upset,” the Arclight boy responded.

“I…do have this pleasant feeling in my chest,” Astral muttered as he rested his hand over his heart. The other three instantly gazed at one another.

“Hmm… Okay, uh, Astral, can you wait outside for a bit so Kotori, Michael, and I can talk it over and see what’s best in your situation?” Rio asked sweetly to which the pale male complied.

As he exited the room, the female twin immediately called Michael over as she grinned. The pink-haired boy sat on the edge of the bed, seemingly in thought.

“What do you think we should do?” Rio inquired quickly, staring at her two companions. Michael tapped his finger on his chin and thought for a moment while the green-haired youth bowed her head.

“I believe trying to get them together would be a good choice,” he suggested after a minute or two.

“What if we’re wrong though… or… What if Astral doesn’t really feel the same?” Kotori countered, frowning. “I don’t want either of them to get hurt because of a misunderstanding.”

“Good point,” the male of the trio murmured. “What do you say Rio?”

“Well, from what I’ve seen, they have a strong bond… and even if it doesn’t work out, I’m sure they could work past it… I mean Durbe and I are still good friends, and we dated for a while,” Rio stated. “It just depends on how it works out, I guess… so… I think we should just get them together.”

Michael nodded, “I agree.”

“Well, okay,” the Mizuki girl replied. “So how exactly do we help him?”

Rio smirked, “I have an idea… Michael, can you go get Astral for me? I’ll explain again when you get back.”

“Sure,” the pink-haired boy replied as he stood up and headed to the door.

Afterwards, the female twin focused her full attention on her friend and spoke, “So… I was thinking that we…”


End file.
